Biologists, conservationists team up to eradicate salt cedar trees in New Mexico

Published: Thursday, July 14, 2005

ASSOCIATED PRESS

CARLSBAD, N.M. (AP) - Since 1998, a team of Bureau of Land Management biologists and conservationists from the Carlsbad Field Office have waged war on salt cedar growing along the Delaware River in the most southern reaches of Eddy County.

Although they have yet to win the war, the close-knit team has won several battles, and the team has plenty of stories to share of how they and college students hired each summer uprooted, cut down and burned salt cedar trees growing densely along the river.

The work is slow going. Of the nine-mile stretch of the Delaware that runs through Eddy County and converges with the Pecos River, the team has removed only 21/2 miles of salt cedar manually and mechanically.

This year, the BLM hopes to remove 1.25 miles more of salt cedar, also known as tamarisk.

The BLM has planted cottonwood and willow trees to replace the salt cedars, which are known to use 200 gallons or more of water each day.

The team is beginning to see the fruits of their labor where the salt cedar has been removed along the riverbanks. There is water in the once dry riverbed and it's running faster. Natural grasses are growing and 27 species of birds have been counted in the area, said John Sherman, BLM wildlife biologist.

Salt cedar was introduced in the United States in the early 1900s to stabilize stream banks. Today, state and federal agencies are spending millions of dollars to eradicate the aggressive and invasive plant from the Pecos River Basin.

Ray Keller, BLM range conservationist, said the task of removing salt cedar is daunting at times because of its density.

"Usually you can count on 3,000 trees per acre," Keller said.

Arriving at a location of the river where extensive salt cedar removal has been completed, Keller said the result of taking the salt cedar out is what he and his team had hoped for.

Pointing to a gently sloping hill above the river where native grass was waving in the breeze, Keller said that after the salt cedar had been taken out along the hill and banks of the river, there was nothing left but dirt.

"We planted the cottonwoods, but the grasses returned after we had some rain," he said. "The river in this section of the river had at one time dried up. The original flow was 6.1 cubic feet per second. We have seen about a half acre-foot increase in the river here. It's running about 2.5 cfs. This is such a nice and peaceful place. It's perfect for a family picnic or campout."

On a short hike to another location of the river where the salt cedar has yet to be removed, the team walked with heads ducked through a thick growth of salt cedar to demonstrate how difficult their job is to remove the trees.

"We hope to get to this area pretty soon. But we need to do some archaeological studies and work here," said Steven Day, BLM soil conservationist, as he pointed to some prehistoric animal skeletal bones lying partially uncovered.

The team of conservationist and biologists is also working with ranchers who have federal leases along the Delaware.

"In exchange for limiting the path of the cattle that come down to water at the rivers edge, the BLM built a pipeline running from the river to a stock tank discreetly placed on the ranch so that it blends into the scenery. The water is pumped using solar power," Keller said.

Although ranchers lease federal lands, the general public has access. Keller said that since the salt cedar has been removed, making the area an ideal camping spot, people have used cleared sites along the riverbank.

Day said that although the BLM is a steward for federal lands, the state appreciates any help it receives in the eradication of salt cedar.

"The state doesn't have a lot of money," he said. "Out here, we sometimes have to cross state land to get to federal land. The state is appreciative of any help we give them. We have agreements with them and we do what we can to help them out."

With grass returning after being choked out by salt cedar, and the water level coming up in the river, Sherman said some species might be reintroduced to the area, such as the Rio Grande turkey.

The team said they are dedicated to removing the salt cedar and will do it until funding runs out.

"Our goal is to do the whole nine miles along the Delaware," Keller said. "It's going to take a while to get it done, but we will get it done. The little that we have done so far, and the results that we have seen, has definitely been worth the effort."